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National Now Foundation Times  >> Fall 2007 >> Women in Music Videos

Organizers Focus Awareness on Women in Music Videos

By Rose Afriyie, Field Organizer

photo by Melody Drnach NOW Foundation Organizer Rose Afriyie (pictured above) regularly speaks around the country on the participation and portrayal of women in the music industry. Afriyie has been instrumental in NOW's educational campaign around this issue.

The NOW Foundation is committed to raising awareness and elevating the dialogue about the portrayal of women and people of color in the music industry.

Sparked by a resolution at NOW's annual conference about the racism, sexism, violence, and other -isms that too often pervade this medium, NOW Foundation has been proactive in encouraging women and girls to evaluate the cultural messages transmitted in some of today's music.

NOW Foundation field organizers have traveled around the country, facilitating campus dialogues and community forums to rave reviews in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

"The presentations on women in the media were exciting and riveting for our students. As a result of the presentations, two Alabama State University (ASU) women students and I have won initial approval to meet on campus in the hopes of creating a NOW Campus Action Network [NOW CAN] on our historically Black campus," said Rev. Dr. E-K. Daufin, Professor in the Department of Communications at ASU.

The discussion on the portrayal of women in music videos developed into a dialogue about everyday instances of street harassment and violence. The ASU NOW CAN group, which grew out of these discussions, is now planing to convene a rape crisis center on campus.

As a co-convener of the Women's Coalition for Dignity and Diversity in Media (story p. 7), NOW Foundation is raising awareness of how media can be used as a tool for social change.

During presentations in the field, organizers often utilize Dreamworlds 3, a documentary produced by Media Education Foundation and directed by Sut Jhally. The film is a useful tool for educators, mentors and parents alike to explore their role of cultural interpreter of music videos in the lives of young people.

Dreamworlds 3 provides a thoughtful perspective on how various filming techniques (such as camera shots that pan over women's bodies or present fragments of women's bodies as a number of disconnected body parts) can dehumanize women and create an environment where sexual assault and violence against women are not taken seriously.

Along with working to raise awareness about the impact on girls who are bombarded by these images, NOW Foundation is joining with institutions that are investigating the economic circumstances of women and people of color who are often featured in music videos.

In February 2008, NOW Foundation will go back to ASU to make a presentation on "Patriarchal Gangsterism," a concept coined by long time feminist bell hooks, which explores how media consolidation negatively influences the portrayal of both men and women in the African American community.

Understanding that these portrayals are bound to issues of race, class and gender, NOW Foundation also recognizes that the voice of women in music videos has often been silent, sexualized or excluded entirely.

In future initiatives, NOW Foundation hopes to create dialogues where women in this industry have a safe, nonjudgmental space to speak on their participation—and agency in that participation—in music videos and musical content. In these consciousness raising forums, NOW Foundation welcomes discussion on the community's responsibility and the role of everyday people in media advocacy.